Anchovy Vinaigrette Recipe

I had an opened jar of anchovies in the refrigerator from the photoshoot I did for my upcoming cookbook (Haute Potato, out this December). Since I'm the only one in our home who likes the oily, salted fish, I came up with a simple way of putting it to good use. I found the anchovies to be a bit too salty to my taste, so I ran them under cold water, then ground them into a paste. The flavor-packed mixture became the base of a salad dressing. The rest is really as it pleases you; I added a bit of horseradish mustard for a little heat, fruity extra-virgin olive oil and Champagne pear vinegar for a touch of decadence.

The salad was composed very simply of hard-cooked eggs, tomatoes, pine nuts and butter lettuce. Voilà!

For the hard-cooked quail eggs: Place the eggs in a saucepan and cover them with water. As soon as the water reaches a full boil, add salt. Lower the heat to medium-low. Cook for about 2-3 minutes. Turn off the heat. Cover with a lid and let the quail eggs sit for about 10-12 minutes. Transfer to an ice bath. Cool the eggs completely. Peel and quarter them.

Assembly time: Place the lettuce in an individual salad bowl. Top with the eggs. Sprinkle the pine nuts, capers and tomatoes over the greens. Add the anchovy vinaigrette and toss.

Enjoy!

Tips

To prevent the lettuce from wilting too fast, try not to cut the lettuce with a knife. I usually just gently tear the leaves; that way the salad will remain fresh until it's ready to serve. One other tip: pour the salad dressing at the very last minute (or serve on the side) to keep the salad crunchy.

This vinaigrette recipe can be adapted with many other flavorings such as beets, concentrated fruit juice or even greens such as arugula.

You can find horseradish mustard in most supermarkets. I buy mine at Safeway. You could also add freshly grated horseradish to Dijon mustard.